Colorado Review

Burlap sack–wearing dancers. Kids wrapped up in aluminum foil Dogs costumed as tater tots.

Who knows what sort of irreverent get-ups you might see at the 98th annual Potato Day festivities in Carbondale, Saturday, September 29.

Spud-themed floats share the street with American Legion vets, scout troops, school bands and teenage homecoming queens during the five-block-long, downtown parade—a main event during Potato Day, whose roots date back to 1909.

Back then, Carbondale was one of the country’s biggest potato-growing regions. Residents would gather to celebrate a successful autumn harvest. Today, Potato Day is just a reason for the community to come together to “hang out,� says longtime organizer Lisa Quint.

“We’ve thought about advertising outside of the valley, but with [July’s three-day] Mountain Fair getting so big, we decided we just wanted it to stay the way it is,� says Quint. “Everyone likes the local, small-town feeling.�

The theme of this year’s festival, which coincides with the local high school’s homecoming weekend, is “007.� The event poster shows a James Bond–like silhouette packing a potato peeler instead of a pocket pistol.

Quint hopes parade participants embrace the theme. “You know, ‘Spud. James Spud.’ and ‘License to Bake.’ You’d think the high school kids would get into it. But some years are better than others.�

The parade is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Other events include an early morning 5k and 1-mile road race. In downtown Sopris Park, free live music starts at 11:30 a.m., followed by a noon picnic lunch for $8. The menu includes barbecued beef roasted in an underground pit and, you guessed it, plenty of baked potatoes.

The 3 p.m. “Bareback Bonanza� at the local rodeo arena features barrel racing, kids’ mutton bustin’ and the annual favorite team race, “catch the 220-lb pig and get it in a wheelbarrow to cross the finish line.� Visitors can enter any event.

If you haven’t gotten your fill of taters, head over to Russets restaurant (225 Main Street; 970-963-3036). Order a side of fresh-cut Belgian fries to accompany entrees such as Sesame Crusted Pan Seared Ahi Tuna or New York Cut Sirloin. Families are welcome here: children are given a Mr. Potato Head to play with before dinner arrives.

Carbondale, Colorado

I went out of town this weekend and returned home to this:

Gorgeous hues of burnt-orange leaves on Roaring Fork Valley mountains, and a dusting (actually more like a good cover) of snow on Mount Sopris, a nearly fourteen-thousand-feet peak that overlooks Carbondale. My point-and-shoot digital doesn’t do the scene justice; you’ll just have to road trip up here to see for yourself! (This is the morning view from my front porch; I should wait until the afternoon to show you the robin’s-egg blue sky that appears once the sun rises a bit more.)

I love autumn in the Rockies. Winter is not far behind. I sent my kids to school in their fleece jackets and mittens this morning. (Waiting for the bus in the shade is chillllly!)

Carbondale, Colorado, snow, Rockies